


Run

by Lethal_Bread



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Abuse, Abusive Parent, Abusive Relationship, OC, briso is a ship child, this entire au is super fucked up actually, tiso is abusive in this au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:26:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27833749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lethal_Bread/pseuds/Lethal_Bread
Summary: Mom is gone, and Briso runs away
Comments: 3
Kudos: 5





	Run

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings for abuse, trauma, and reference to self harm  
> i wrote this to make brother cry bc im amazing like that

Briso sighed, staring at the ground. Mom had gotten worse, and Brother was gone. Where was he? He shuddered, glancing toward the door. Mom was quiet right now… was he gone? Maybe he can leave? He frowns, whimpering. He didn’t want to leave Mom, he was sure he would change and go back to how he was in the stories Brother told. Back to being nice and teaching them and letting them grow out this fluff. Maybe dad would come back. He didn’t remember Dad well, but Brother said he was nice. He had red fluff, like Brother! He missed Dad. He frowns, looking at the door again. He could leave, he could stop getting hurt so much. He whimpered again as he stood, small lines on his legs and torso stinging and re-opening as he moved. Another thing his mother hated about him. Apparently Dad had a squishy body and not an exoskeleton like Mom and Brother did. He wobbled a bit, steadying himself against the wall. Wow, how long had he been waiting here? His legs hurt. He grabbed his mask, putting it on and blocking a bit of his peripheral vision in the process. He shuffles onward, slowly getting used to the pain of walking. By the time he gets a little ways away from the door, he can walk normally again, though stumbling a bit. He blinks, looking around. How long had it been since he had gone outside? He tensed, hearing something a ways behind him, starting to run from it. He yelped, muffling the sound with his hands as he fell, eyes stinging with wetness. He scrambles to get up, ignoring the ache in his legs and the tears blurring his vision, running forward, away from the sound. A shout sent his senses on high alert as he ran faster, ignoring how it hurt. He ran, climbed, jumped, and then ran some more in an attempt to escape whatever was chasing him. Whoever was chasing him. He hid in some brush in a weird mushy green area, watching a short bug stalk past him, holding a shield close to their body. Their hood bounced as they walked, and that only made Briso wish he could disappear. That bug happened to be his mother, and he knew that he was looking for Briso. When he had turned to check a corner, Briso booked it in the opposite direction, climbing higher once more as he ran to escape his angry mother. He climbed until he saw a place that wasn’t green. This place was dull and grey. His anxiety spiked when he heard something in the greenery behind him, and he ran again, jumping on the platforms. They shook when he landed on them, chains creaking. He froze for a second, hoping that they wouldn’t fall. When he was sure they would stay, he climbed onto the next one, repeating the process again. Afer the next few, he didn’t wait, and continued climbing up the weird shaft with platforms. He reached the top, marvelling at the creatures crawling around for a moment. He hadn’t seen them alive before, and he rarely saw them dead nowadays. He tore his gaze from them, looking to the right. He guessed he should probably head that way, it seemed lighter in that direction. After a bit of walking and a mini rest (his legs were so sore, he couldn’t remember the last time they hurt this much) he looked up a tall hole. It would be a pain to clim, but it was looking like it was his only way out. He hadn’t seen any other large hole that went up and elad to a way out. So he grit his teeth and climbed. He was thankful for the small pocket halfway through the climb, dug into the wall of the hole. It did look like dirt, and it looked different from the grey stuff that made up the floor. It almsot looked like it was built, he noted, breathing heavily. He curls up in the darkest area he could, taking a breather. He had to have been running for hours now, he thought dimly. At least he had escaped Mom for a little bit, even if he was running for his life the entire time. He barely held in his tears when he thought up ideas for what his punishment would be once Mom got him. No food? No, he’s already done that. Maybe he’d be hurt more? Maybe he would have to stay by the acid lakes again, legs getting burned and even gaining small pock marks in them from the bubbles of acid. Maybe the vengeflies could get a free meal again, he thought numbly, going to rub at the stub of his missing horn. That one had hurt. That was the first time that Brother had really fought Mom after Dad left. Mom left them alone for a few days after that, having to tend to his own wounds. He hadn’t hurt Briso physically since then, not until Brother disappeared. He flinched, snapped out of his thoughts by a creature crawling up to him. It was white, and it had a hard shell that was covered in backwards facing spikes. It’s face was less protected, and he could see its mandibles gnawing on the air, looking for food. He held out a hand to it, and it skittered back at first, spooked. After a few tense moments, it crawled closer, and nibbled on his hand a bit before finding the few leaves in his palm meant for it. Briso watches it eat, mesmerized by the process. He stayed still as the little bug crawled toward him, shoving his legs apart and climbing over one, before nestling itself behind his bent knees. Briso winced at the bug rubbing against old and new wounds, but didn’t try to move it away. Instead, he shifted so that it would be more comfortable. The spikes on its back felt odd, but they didnt hurt like he’d expected them to. If anything, they just made his knees feel all weird and tingly. He ignored the feeling, shifting a bit more and sighing. He’d have to get moving soon if he wanted to escape, Mom would figure out that he was here soon. Maybe… maybe a small nap wouldn’t hurt, he thought, eyes sliding shut. His exhaustion caught up with him, and he passed out.

He was startled awake by the sound of metal scraping against the wall, and he froze for a moment. Definitely Mom, and he was close. Briso glanced back at his new friend behind his legs, and moved quickly, scooping it up and putting it in his hood. He barely waited a second before rushing out of his hidey hole, climbing up the wall as fast as he could. He barely escaped Mom grabbing him as he climbed out, breaths coming sharp and quick as he ran toward a town as soon as he had proper footing. Mom clearly wasn’t going to be stopped by a town, he thought in a panic, Mom would never let me go. He slowed only for a moment, but that was plenty of time for Mom to catch up to him. He yelped at the feeling of claws trying to grab his hood, and jerked away. He caught sight of Mom’s hand, the ebony of his shell gleaming in the light. He sucked in a breath, turning heel and running as fast as he could toward a large… what was that? He didn’t know, and frankly, he didn’t care right now. He continued to run toward it, hoping he could hide behind them. Or in them, he thought upon seeing what looked like an entrance. He took a sharp turn to the right, running into the large place. Mom stopped outside the entrance, looking wary. He glared at Briso, who was frozen in place, only a few feet away from the opening.  
“Come here.” Mom commanded, and Briso almost complied, barely holding himself back. Mom snarled, a growl entering his tone as he repeated the command, and Briso would have, if not for the sudden, very warm hand on his shoulder. He stayed still as a statue, holding his breath. He kept his gaze locked on Mom, not willing to look behind him to see who had come. They probably heard Mom, and were going to throw him out and let Mom drag him back. A strangled whimper forced itself from his throat, and a tremor ran through his body at the sound, and it seemed to trigger everything else breaking apart as well. He shook, keeping a tight grip on his upper arms, squeezing hard enough he was sure he’d have bruises there later. He felt a familiar wetness sting at his eyes and begin to flow down his cheeks, a steady dripping sound being heard as the little drops of water hit the floor. He whispers something, and the hand on his shoulder tightening its grip makes him flinch, starting to sink toward the ground as he curled in on himself. His whispers turned into mumbles, which turned to him trying to silence himself so that Mom wouldn’t get mad. Mom watched all of this with no reaction, simply glaring at Briso.  
“Get up. We’re going home.” He growls, and Briso whimpers weakly, before starting to make himself stand up, uselessly rubbing his cheeks in an attempt to make the tears stop coming. He freezes when a clawed hand is suddenly in his face, and he panics, thinking it’s Mom at first. He goes to cry out an apology, when a familiar, yet unfamiliar voice speaks to him. Soft and raspy and full of… Worry? That wasn’t Mom. He snaps his headup to see a new bug, standing tall above him and looking like he himself was going to cry. A blue cloak hung over his shoulders, and his torso was red. It was weird, there was so much red here. He hadn’t seen red since Brother disappeared. How long had it been since then? He had stopped crying for the most part by now, mesmerized by the red of the bugs shell. He still shook, struggling to stand up even with the warm bug’s help. His legs hurt. He flinched when the red bug looked over him, then looked over to Mom.  
“Give me Briso, Grimm.” Mom hissed, and the red bug - Grimm? - looked back to Briso. He frowned, scrunching up his face, thinking. After letting out a breath, he shook his head.  
“No, Tiso. I don’t know what you’ve done to the boy, but he is injured, and he is scared.” The red bug’s frown deepens, and Briso feels hope flutter in his chest for the first time in years. Was the red bug going to help him? Was the red bug not going to throw him back to Mom? He froze, hope leaving him as Mom spoke again, voice eerily calm. He must be really angry now… Briso wasn’t excited for the punishment that would come.  
“I’m not going to ask you twice. Give me Briso back, now.”  
“Or what?” The red bug asks, softly. It is clear that he is angry, and Briso feels as though he could cry again. He fails to register the words of the taller bug, only seeing the anger. Of course he was angry with Briso, he broke into his home and wouldn’t go back to his Mom like a good boy. He startled the red bug by speaking softly, voice raspy and hoarse. He didn’t know the last time he had spoken other than screaming.  
“I’m sorry,” He whispers, “I’ll go back to Mom. I’ll stop bothering you now.” The glare he receives from Mom is full of hatred, and he regrets ever opening his mouth. He starts to walk away before the red bug has fully processed his words. Briso lets out a small scream of pain and confusion as he is pulled back by his arm, throat hurting with excess use. Mom growled at the red bug, who growled right back.  
“Do not forget who the more powerful one of us two is, Tiso. Leave, and do not return to my tent again.” He hisses, and Mom lingers for a few moments before admitting defeat, not wanting to fight the red bug for some reason. Once Mom was gone, the red bug pulled Briso closer gently to get a better look at his condition, noting the missing appendages and the not-so-accidental wounds covering his body. He holds his arms toward Briso, who tilts his head in confusion. What was he trying to do? The red bug seemed to get more upset at Briso not knowing what to do. He shook his head lightly when Briso went to apologize, silencing him.  
“Do you mind if I carry you? I am not sure how safe it is for you to walk right now, and you need to get cleaned up so I can help you properly.” The red bug explained, and Briso nodded, before freezing. Was this going to hurt? He trembled, but ignored it. He opened his mouth, forcing himself to talk again.  
“W-will… it hurt?” He asks, and the red bug sighed.  
“Yes, I’m afraid it will. But I will try to hurt you as little as possible. You’re hurt enough already.”  
Briso looks into the red bug’s eyes, frowning. After a few tense moments, he nodded.  
“Okay.”

**Author's Note:**

> i dont have a beta reader sorry for any spelling fuck ups ainsansn  
> yeah this au??? super fucked up. me and my brother made a few others and went "lets put all the angst in this au specifically"


End file.
